The Battle for Harvest
by Lethal Nizzle
Summary: Harvest was one of the first planets which housed a battle between the UNSC forces and the Covenant. Watch as the battle unfolds through a young medic's eyes, as he experiences the beginning of a devastatingly brutal war that would span several decades.
1. First Contact

This is a rewriting of my fic "Tell Me What It's Worth", which I wrote a few months back on my old account "Volconix". I never got to finish it, and I'm hoping I will with the new writing skills I've picked up while I've left this story on hiatus. Hope you enjoy!

****

0607 Hours, February 4, 2525. UNSC Base

_**Falkland**_**, Harvest, Epsilon Indi System. "The Beginning of the Human-Covenant War; The First Battle of Harvest"**

The bitter wind that had suddenly picked up bit into my face. The cloth cape that the UNSC had given us wasn't doing any good shielding us from the cold. My head was bent down, arms cross over my legs with my assault rifle leaning against my leg as I and the rest of my fire team sat along the bench outside our barracks. We had been in the same position for over an hour now, waiting for new orders. As I felt all warmth in my body start to seemingly evaporate, a shadow walked before me. A small cough from the figure confirmed that it was a man.

The man seemed to ignore me and touched the small insignia of a red cross and backed up. I looked upward, administering who it was. From the lack of light I couldn't figure out who it was, but his silhouette was tall and stocky, which could only be one person.

"El-tee?" I muttered, my voice hoarse and barely loud enough for him to hear. As if on cue, First Lieutenant Walsh switched the flash light attached to his helmet on, shining it in my face. "What is it, sir?"

Walsh seemed to stand straight again, keeping his flash light on. "Half of Echo squad have been deemed either MIA or KIA, and Delta and Foxtrot are getting pounded up front. General Riska has ordered all available reinforcements in a fifty mile radius to get their skinny asses to the frontlines." My expression faltered. I was excited to experience what I had signed up for, but not in weather like this, where the cold had beaten my body to a pulp. "Get suited up Private, you're heading out."

Walsh then began to walk down the line of the men sitting on the bench, leaving me to fend against the harsh weather once more. It took a while for my brain to register the Lieutenant's orders, but I managed to stand up. I bent down quickly to grab my MA5B rifle and my bag of medical supplies, which merely contained biofoam and a few bandages. It was reasonably heavy since I hadn't been called for duty since I had been shipped to Harvest.

To my right sat Lance Corporal John Wileman, my only and probably best friend in the whole squad. We had been to school together and enlisted together, and had remained in each other's company for all the time we had been in the Marines. He was hunched over as well, finishing off an off-colour mug of coffee.

"You alright there John?" I asked. His ears seemed to prick up when I had spoken. He looked up at me, revealing another pale face and tired eyes.

"Do I look it Elias? Damn, this coffee tastes like shit." John replied, throwing away the half-filled cup into the snow. My friend John, always the optimist. Yet who could possibly be optimistic in the situation we were in? We were under attack by some alien force that no-one had ever seen before. "What did the Lieutenant have to say?"

"We're moving out John. A convoy's coming to pick us up. We've lost half of Echo, and slowly losing Delta and Fox."

"Jesus Elias, you're gonna be busy up there huh."

Before I could retort the unmistakable sound of engines filled the air. I looked across the landing strip, which was drowning in snow and sleet to see our escorts to the battle. I could pick out at least four Scorpion tanks, four Warthog LRVs and two M831 Warthog Troops Transports. The convoy slowly moved around the strip, turning the snow upside down revealing dark mud patches. My squad slowly got to their feet as the transports got ever closer. Soon they were parked in front of us, and Charlie squad began piling into the available vehicles.

"Knight, Wileman fall in!" Walsh had called out from another Warthog. When me and John spotted him, he was pointing to the LRV in front of his.

"Alright Doc in ya come." The driver bellowed over the revving engines. John was quickly pointed to the M41 LAAG gun mounted on the back of the jeep.

A large hand gripped mine and lifted me into the passenger seat. The driver resumed his seat behind the wheel and started the engine up once more. When the driver had finally got the Warthog going he handed me two black balaclavas, each with a large hole to look out of. I took one and handed one to John behind, who stepped down from the gun and took it from me. It was like a gift from the heavens, something to shield my ears from the cold, and the rest of my face for that matter. I lifted my helmet off of my head, exposing my bare face to the cold before slipping the balaclava on.

"Word from the top is that nearly all of Company D are wiped off this planet. These aliens have bombarded the front for a good few hours now, and the call for all the medics are real desperate." The driver turned off the dirt road, following the rest of the convoy through the forest formed around the base. I got ready to reply, but the driver spoke again. "I'm Corporal Earl Jackson, Fox Squad. I'll be driving you to the frontlines, so fix that helmet on tight. It's gonna be a bumpy ride."

"But I thought all of Fox had been wiped out?" I asked, not knowing that the subject could've been a little delicate for the Corporal.

"Oh they have. It's only me and I think five guys left from Fox. Damn aliens killed everyone. But I ain't got no time to cry over 'em, y'know? I, we I mean, could be next to go."

I nodded and turned my attention to John, who was swivelling the M41 around, shooting at imaginary targets. "Having fun up there John?"

A green light in the corner of my HUD winked. I let out a small laugh before fixing my gaze forward again. The silence continued for a few seconds, until a shrill sound pierced the silence like knife. Everyone's attention turned skyward, where three purple ships screamed forward. Moments later one of the ships unloaded what seemed to be a green light. A flare? It was much worse than that. A tank a few vehicles in front of us exploded into a huge fireball which caused all of the convoy to halt. Then the purple shapes turned round for another pass, and John opened up on them with the M41, along with every other gunner.

Suddenly a muffled voice erupted from my TACCOM. Tapping my helmet, I entered the channel and waited for the distorted voice again. It must've been an open channel, since Earl and John were keenly listening in as well.

Yet there was silence over the radio, but the ships overhead screeched towards us once more. Thinking it would do some good, I punched a few rounds into the oncoming ship. My bullets pinged off of the ship's hull, but was quickly reinforced by John behind and soon smoke was trailing from the right wing. An intact Scorpion then unloaded 90mm's of pain from its barrel and into another ship, which careered into the forest without a wing.

My eyes averted from the final Banshee to the Warthog's dashboard, listening intently to the voice that had suddenly. "This is Staff Sergeant McCollough calling to all vehicles in the back half of the convoy. We've been hit hard at the front, so take yourselves around the path and into the woodland. We'll catch up, over."

Lieutenant Walsh's voice then sounded over the COM. "Roger that McCollough. Charlie Squad, follow the rest of the convoy through the forest. Over." A few "yessirs" came from the headset before the link was finally cut.

I looked upward once more, trying to spot the final purple ship. The now familiar sound of screaming came from behind. I turned to see the ugly craft flying low, unleashing a torrent of plasma fire on the line of vehicles. "Shit John, shoot that thing!"

John swung the turret round and began firing, soon turning the alien aircraft into a flaming wreckage which sailed right and into another part of the forest. A loud explosion confirmed that the bastard was down and out.

"Nice shootin' there gunner!" Earl commented, turning onto the dirt track that the Scorpions had carved into the ground. John simply gave a mock salute and relaxed, leaning back with his hands firmly around the turret grip.

But the ecstasy of downing an enemy ship was cut short. The full scene of the carnage that happened up front came into view. Marines were lying against the trees, either unwounded or with some minor bleeding standing out against their armour. Then the Scorpion appeared, or what was left of it. The lower half of the tank was blackened and dented, with fire trickling out of small gaps in its frame. The large turret which housed the 90mm High Velocity Gun had been completely severed from the rest of tank. It would've been a miracle if anyone had survived it.

"It's ten times worse in the _real_ battle. You got plasma hitting you from every angle. Even if you're in the trenches you're gonna get hit." Jackson said. . I turned to Jackson who had a twisted smile on his face. "How'd you like that then Doc? Just a taste, y'know. You're gonna be a busy man up there." He pointed north, presumably indicating the frontlines.

"Yeah.." I looked down at my lap, as the adrenaline that had pumped my body left and was replaced by the icy winds once more. For everyone else, this was just a warm up but for me, _this_ was the real battle.


	2. Close Quarters

**0856 Hours, February 4, 2525. UNSC Base **_**Ashill**_**, Harvest, Epsilon Indi System.**

"Elias, wake up!"

John's voice seemed to echo around my head as I struggled to get back to sleep. It had been several hours since the convoy had been ambushed, and the feel of the sheets, no matter how thin they were, felt like heaven. John began to shake my shoulder, but I wasn't going to budge. Defiantly, I turned over, digging by body deeper into the mattress. Standard issue mattresses were never comfortable.

"Elias, get the hell up! We're heading out!"

Instantly I sat up, revealing a white vest which was damp with sweat. The air-con inside the barracks countered the cold outside, but made the inside a baking oven that was impossible to avoid. I looked up at John, who was standing in full battle dress with his MA5B assault rifle held across his abdomen.

"Heading out? Where to?" I asked, rubbing my eyes in the process.

"Sector SC-14, more commonly known as the town of Zarue." John said, in a tone which sounded like it had been ripped straight from a briefing.

Swinging my legs over the bed, I rubbed my eyes once again before replying. "Is that the front?"

"Nope. A few kliks north of there is the official front I guess. We're being sent to clear out the Covenant. They've set themselves up in the town."

Standing to my true height of six feet, I walked around my bed and opened my locker, revealing my combat fatigues dumped hap-haphazardly at the bottom of the interior. I took out my chest plating first, throwing it on the bed. Suddenly what John had just said slowly made its way into my mind. What did he just say? Covenant?

"Who are the Covenant?"

John didn't reply, but his facial expression changed into a solemn look. He sighed as he made his way to the centre of the room, where a small rounded box sat. I knew it was a holographic pod, but I didn't get why John was turning it on. He then began to fish into his pockets for something, his movements seemed slow and sluggish. I managed to see a small chip before it was swiftly inserted into the pod. The machine began running, showing the UNSC logo as it slowly booted up.

Then the microchips contents began to roll.

* * *

The video clip began off with static, with the screen fraying. I could see purple among the black and white, which was slowly morphing into a shape. Then there it was, staring me right in the face. The most twisted face I had ever seen in my life. I wasn't even sure if it was a face, but whatever it was it looked like something out of a twenty-first century science fiction film. An alien of some sort. The one in the video was wearing what seemed to be a head guard, with spikes sticking out from various angles, probably hiding flesh underneath.

"Beings that it may concern, I am Xyon 'Kirkshee, Fleet Master of _The Fleet of Praying Dusk. _You beings have come under our radar as dangerous, therefore we are now locked in a dangerous battle that _we_ will win. You lifeforms have a chance here, to surrender yourselves and lay down your weapons."

"Heh, bullshit. These freaks don't know who they're messing with." Shimenski had walked in, towel wrapped around his waist and below, his hair dripping with water.

"Our intelligence has gathered that you have a large.. military presence on this planet." The alien named Xyon said, in a tone that seemed to drift away as he spoke. Then its face distorted into one of rage, all of its mandibles slowly spreading wider. "If the supreme commander of your military does not send the order of surrender then you will suffer the consequences."

The alien started to walk away from the screen, showing a wall behind made up entirely of foreign-looking computeristic equipment. I looked down at my lap to reflect on what had just been said, and what the thing was that had said it. Before I could Xyon stopped in its tracks, slowly turning round and approaching the camera once more.

"We are the Covenant, and be prepared to be broken if your highest ranking being does not comply with our orders."

* * *

**1030 Hours, February 4, 2525. Outskirts of Sector SC-14, **_**Zarue**_**.**

The M1831 Troop Transport Warthog bounced over yet another snow dune, coming to rest of the foot of the hill before driving off once more. I was sitting in the roll cage behind the driver and passenger seats, along with John, the fire team's heavy gunner PFC Antonio Variquez and our marksman, Lance Corporal James "Jimmy" Chang. Harvest's pale sun was out, yet slightly shrouded in near transparent clouds. The snow was beginning to fade back into the green of grass.

We weren't the only ones being sent to Zarue though. We were being backed up by squads Oscar and Lima. Both had also suffered the consequences of the first contact with the Covenant. The two fire teams of Oscar were moving in another M1831 while Lima, who were mainly a tank-based squad were tackling the dunes with Scorpions, along with a few standard Warthog LRVs carrying the remainder of the squad.

The cavalry had seemed ready for anything, weapons bared and fresh faces shining in the pale light. But in truth, we were not prepared for what came next.

"Incoming!" The driver screamed as all our heads turned skyward. The purple screamers had returned, this time in a larger number. "Heads down Marines!"

By now we were approaching the edge of Zarue, which in itself wasn't very big. I could make out half of the town from my position. Almost instantaneous to the driver's cry, the soldiers of Lima in the Scorpions opened fire. One of the Covenant ships fell instantly, exploding into small pieces which fell through the air like lightning. The driver of the vehicle had hit the ground with a sickening thud. I could see that it was the same species as the Covenant Fleet Master Xyon.

"More bogies five o'clock!" PFC David Shimenski cried from our Warthog's passenger seat. Jimmy Chang brought his SRS99C-S2 AM sniper rifle to bare. He squeezed off a round and we all watched as the 14.5x114mm AP-FS-DS round severed one of the small energy pods on the end of the wing. The pilot struggled to keep his bird in the air and began to steer his ship towards the convoy. "Shit, we got a martyr!"

What happened next shook us and the ground beneath us, literally. The pilot had managed to slam the seemeingly uncontrollable aircraft into one of Oscar squad's troop transports. We watched in horror as the grotesque purple starfighter crushed everyone inside the jeep and causing both vehicles to explode. Another Scorpion opened fire on another fighter along with another which opened up on another with its turret. Both ships began to dance through the air until they finally came to rest in the snow.

Then I could hear Lieutenant Walsh's voice over all the confusion and the raging fire from the wreckage. Everyone in my transport immediately disembarked. We were now on the main road into Zarue, and already we could see Covenant forces pushing up. Walsh was ordering Lima's radio operator to call in air support, but by the sound of it, it wasn't going to happen.

"What do you mean we can't get Interceptors here?" Walsh bellowed at the soldier, who had looked like had had shrunken to half his size with Walsh leaning over him.

"The Covenant have jammed our s-signals. I c-can't get through to _Ashill _base." The operator stuttered as Walsh's expression evaporated.

"Alright son. You just keep trying. Sergeant Mohawk, SITREP!"

The relatively young sergeant and squad leader of Oscar appeared behind the flaming wreckage of the tangled Covenant and human vehicle. "Five men KIA, all in the TT. One severely injured, the driver, sir."

I turned to see a bloodied Marine stagger from the same side as Mohawk, being helped by two other soldiers. A white bandage had been wrapped around his head to stop the bleeding, yet the blood was still seeping through. "Sir!" I yelled out, remembering the Covenant advancing from Zarue. "Covenant moving up the main road from Zarue!"

As if on cue, a large ball of blue plasma erupted from within the town punctured the sky, smaller trails of plasma trailing from it. I heard another yell of "incoming" and instinctively hit the floor. I watched as the plasma narrowly overshot its target; us, and struck the land behind us. Then the rest of the Marines including my squad charged forward, MA5Bs aimed forward and their hearts in their throats.

The men charging had to trudge up at least five feet of hill before they could even get a shot on the enemy. Almost instantly two men fell from a barrage of plasma fire, possibly from a handheld device and began to slide down the hill with blood entrailing from them. I ran forward myself, bringing my own rifle forward. Walsh was leaning against the hill beckoning the rest of the men to jump over and await their fate. I was one of them.

When I reached the summit of the hill I saw the main road which had been decimated by plasma and small crater holes, presumably from grenades. I then spotted Jimmy and Dan Shimenski taking cover behind a burnt out Covenant vehicle of some kind. Keeping low, I made my way towards my fellow squad members, sliding along the last few metres on my knees.

"Shit Elias! Thanks for dropping in when you felt like it!" Dan snapped, which in truth was typical Daniel Shimenski. "Give us some covering fire on that turret!"

I took a peek over the wreckage and spotted a mounted gun nest set up on one side of the road. The design was strange, and obviously alien. The main part of it was spherical, with gaps in the sides for the person manning it to escape out of. Two small turrets sat one each side of the sphere, making it an overall odd-looking spectacle. Departing from my thoughts, I quickly ducked as a few shots of plasma were fired and evaporated against the vehicle's purple body. "On my mark then Dan!" I looked at Jimmy, who nodded back and aimed through his scope. "Mark!"

I let rip with my assault rifle, bullets tearing through the air, some not really hitting anything. Dan had hopped the wreckage and was sprinting across the road towards the gun nest, which began to spit out its ammunition. The small alien manning the turret was quickly cut down by Jimmy, who let off another round, killing another one of the bipedal creatures. I looked at Dan, who held his thumb up and continued forward. This was the cue for every other marine to do the same.

We entered the town with frowns on our faces. In the part of the town we were in, the ground and the buildings seemed untouched, as if the Covenant where ghosts. All of the buildings were built like villas, obviously built for hot weather. The white walls blended in with the white snow which had began to batter the town in rhythm with the wind.

"Knight, Wileman; take point!" Walsh's voice sounded from behind us. "Switch onto SQUAD channel six, keep in contact!" Me and John looked at each other before setting off down the adjacent road to the one we were standing on. Cars remained parked on the kerbs, doors of houses and shops were open, banging against the hinges as the wind continued to cause trouble.

I peered over the top of the car I was hiding behind. There was nothing, just a normal road that looked like something from a book. I snapped my hand forward and John moved on, rifle aimed forward and footfalls hardly making a sound. I broke from cover and moved up slowly, looking to my flanks to see if anything was creeping past.

My left was clear. My rear was clear. My right.. shit. I heard the "zip" sound and I instantly found shelter behind another car, my back facing the assailant. "John, heads up! Sniper!" I took another look through the shattered window and saw a small blue light moving ever so slightly in a dark alley. I added under my breath, "Where's Chang when you need him."

"Knight! SITREP!" Walsh's voice echoed through my head. I had forgot that the SQUADCOM was still on.

"Sir, we're FIBUA as expected. I'm pinned down by an enemy sniper in the alley opposite. It's a tight squeeze but I think I can-"

The "zip" sound bounced of the walls of the street once more. Instead of hitting tarmac it hit flesh. I looked down at myself, checking to see if I was hit. Nothing. I looked over at John's last position, inside a convenience store. I looked down the alley the sniper had been hiding, and the blue light had disappeared. Then I ran for the store.

I could see as I neared the door shattered glass littering the pavement. Looking in, I saw a body in full Marine fatigues lying in a pool of crimson mere feet away from the doorway. It was John. I slid down to my knees instantly, swinging my bag of supplies round to my chest. I swiftly ripped out the biofoam container and twisted the cap off.

"John!" No reply. I turned him over and saw the full view of the wound. The bolt from the enemy's rifle had clearly cut through the lungs and John's wound was bleeding profusely. I began to apply the biofoam as gurgles began to come from John's mouth, along with a small trail of blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He needed help now.

"Sir this is Knight! Lance Corporal Wileman is hit, I repeat Wileman is down!"


	3. Adieu Zarue

**1534 Hours, February 5, 2525. UNSC Base **_**Ashill, Harvest.**_

The whitewashed room was pretty small for an operating theatre. The height of the room was just over two metres, and the length was nearly as small as the height. In the middle of the room was an operating table, with John lying across it. A mixture of certified doctors and field medics seemed to rush in and out, sticking hands into my best friend's body as if gutting a fish. I was sitting outside in the waiting room, like I had been since the day before.

Hours seemed to tick away swiftly as the operation to save John continued. It only briefly stopped after a blackout, but as soon as power was regained the process carried on. I was still in my combat fatigues and John's blood still on my hands.

John had crawled slowly and painfully away from the sniper's sight and behind the counter, where he lay for no more than five seconds bathing in his own blood. I nearly retched when the full blown wound came into view. The sniper had easily fired into John's open chest, puncturing one of his lungs.

I was lucky to administer the biofoam when I did. It managed to unclog excess blood from the wound, giving the rest of squads Oscar and Lima to catch up. My recollections were interrupted where one of the doctors left the operating theatre and turned towards me. The solemn expression gave away that it wasn't good.

"Private Knight; Lance Corporal Wileman is in a critical condition at this time. His lung is slowly filling up with blood." The doctor sensed my expression and quickly hid his bloody hands behind his back. "He will not be seeing action anytime soon."

"Thanks Doc." I managed to croak as the doctor gave a weak smile before heading back for the room. Then I realised I hadn't asked one of the most important questions that could be asked in that situation. "Will he live?"

"We're not sure son. He's doing well at the moment, but we need to get that lung fixed if he's ever going to set foot in the battlefield again."

**1945 Hours, February 5, 2525. Sector SC-14, town of Zarue.**

Somehow my eyes had grown accustomed to the dark without my night vision goggles. I see the road where we had entered Zarue from, the Covenant wreckage still there, and as the LRV drove down a familiar road, I could see the same shop where I had found John. I had found out that remains of Oscar and Lima squads managed to set up command posts throughout the town, giving us guided checkpoints to the heart of Zarue, where apparently something had to be checked out.

Everyone from yesterday's assault on Zarue bar John was in my Warthog; Chang, Vasquez and Shimenski were all once again banged up in the roll cage. A Marine with a datapad standing in front of a roadblock held up his hand, signalling for the driver to stop.

"You guys Charlie?" The soldier asked before punching a few numbers into the datapad, hardly paying attention to us.

"Sure are." I said. The marine stopped playing with the datapad and looked up.

"Second Lieutenant Walsh is waiting for you at the junction past this roadblock. He has asked me to give you a quick brief on your objective."

Everyone looked at each other briefly before looking back at the Marine, waiting for him to continue.

"You're objective is to rendezvous with Walsh at a lookout point in the Luthor Hotel at the next junction. Covenant dropships have landed near the coast and are deploying troops as we speak." The trooper stopped for breath, then continued. "You've all been given modified weapons, correct?"

I looked down at the assault rifle in my lap. It looked basically the same as a standard issue MA5B, yet a few modifications inside plus a large sound suppressor screwed on the barrel of the gun. Jimmy had a silenced sniper rifle, Antonio was holding a modified M7 submachine gun and Dan was holding an MA5B similar to mine. A few nods answered the Marine's question.

"No further details have been given. Just head through here and turn on the first right. You can't miss it."

We all nodded in unison, and the Marine turned around and held a thumb up for the men manning the roadblock. The large steel gates swung open and our LRV passed through. The night sky was turning darker by the second, and I followed suit as everyone else activated their night vision. Instantly my view turned a mixture of green and black. When we reached the hotel we saw Walsh and a few familiar faces from Oscar squad standing outside.

"Alright Charlie, in you come!" Everyone disembarked, leaving the driver alone in the jeep. He slowly reversed his vehicle out of the road and back through the roadblock. We saluted at Walsh, who saluted back before taking off down the main hall.

"As you've been told, dropships are offloading their cargo near the coast. Currently they think we've left Zarue to them. Time to give 'em a surprise, right Charlie squad?"

"Oorah!" We chorused as we headed up a flight of stairs. The hotel was dimly lit, which a soldier from Oscar squad explained to us that in the raid on the day previous the town's main generator was nearly destroyed, churning out only a fifth of the electricity it once sent out around the town.

We then entered a room with a small balcony and smashed windows. Sandbags had been lined underneath the windowsills, and two M247 General Purpose Machine Guns had been set up behind them. A tripod for Jimmy's sniper rifle also sat on a windowsill.

"Chang, feel free to deactivate your night vision in your helmet. Your scope has its own."

"Yessir." Chang replied, his voice taking on an excited tone. I would be as well if I could see in the dark and have aiming like his.

"Alright, Shimenski and Vasquez, man the turrets. I can hear their slimy feet hitting the ground right now!"

"Fire at will, sir?"

"What the hell do you think you have silencers for, Shimenski? Fire only if fired upon!"

"Then why are we going on the turrets, Eltee?" Shimenski asked as the Lieutenant turned around. Walsh was getting aggravated now. But before he could retort his ears seemed to prick up. He could hear something.

"Knight, get those binoculars out!" I heard my name and instantly switched on the binoculars. Getting into a prone position and crawling to the balcony, I could see through night vision of the binoculars a Covenant patrol. I could one of the eight foot tall beings which seemed to walk at the back. I then saw three little creatures with shields in their hands, and blue lights on their chests. The blue light I saw in the alleyway was one of them. Even smaller than them then were the sort of grunts of the patrol, easily four five foot creatures which walked in front of the patrol.

The patrol stopped at the junction, the "leader" creature pointing around the buildings, assigning areas for the rest of its squad. The snipers flanked right, traversing the building opposite. If we didn't take them out quickly, they would easily mow us down.

"Jimmy, look sharp. Building opposite..." I paused to see which floor the snipers were stopping on. They disappeared into the dark for a few seconds, their bright shields reappearing on the second floor. "Second floor."

Seconds later, a silenced bullet shot across the street and implanted itself in one of the creatures skull. Before the victim's brethren could scream out they were cut down nanoseconds later. Luckily, one of the modifications to Jimmy's rifle was a device which erased the white smoke that would trail from the bullet after leaving the gun. If it wasn't for these alterations, we would've been spotted.

"By God Chang, you didn't give 'em time to blink!" Walsh exclaimed in a whisper. I could see Chang smiling as he decided to reload. I turned my sights back to the street below however. The bipedal creatures were moving cautiously. Had we been heard? I could hear the behemoth alien speaking in its alien tongue into what seemed like a communicator.

My attention had been spent too long on the large alien, and not on the smaller ones. Soon I could hear a door below slamming, followed by alien babble.

"Sir, Covenant coming up!"

"Alright, Slay you're with me!" Walsh and the Oscar squad member Slay promptly left the room. I could see that Dan was getting restless.

"Damn, I wanna shoot those slimy sons o' bitches so bad Doc!" Dan whined, using the word "Doc" which I had told him not too in the past.

"Keep it down! I think the huge alien is trying to contact the snipers."

The alien began to bark into its communicator, repeating the word "kig-yar" over and over. The alien ceased attempting to contact its sniper team and seemed to sigh, its mandibles spreading outwards briefly. Then he seemed to look dead into my eyes causing me to freeze. Then he was gone.

"Holy shit! Doc, did you see that?"

"Sure did. Let's contact El-"

As if on cue, the man himself Lieutenant Walsh along with Slay entered the room. I had caught a glimpse of Walsh's ammo counter before they left, and it was still on 32. Walsh seemed ecstatic, yet Slay was more apprehensive, shooting nervous looks behind him and into the hallway.

"Sir, one of the big ones just turned invisible." I told him in a hushed whisper. Walsh's expression was one of confusion and speculation.

"Knight, you need to sort your eye sight out son. How can a thing just disappear just like th-"

Then, pandemonium broke out. I heard Slay cough before hitting the marble with a dull thud. Everyone spun round to look out into the hall way. Suddenly, a shape seemed to morph in the doorway, and two beams of light erupted from the air. Then I realised what it was.

The shape along with the beams of light sped across the room, instantly cutting through the other Oscar squad member. Dan instantly jumped away from the turret and brought his MA5B upwards. We watched as the Oscar soldier was lifted up by an invisible hand, and the lights thrust into his abdomen, emerging from the other side. In these few seconds, the whole room went into frenzy.

I hit the deck and rolled back out into the balcony. From my prone position I could see the alien slip in and out of its invisible camouflage, its energy shield slowly depleting. I heard Jimmy scream out and instantly helped myself up into a crouched position. The gunfire was still going on as I reached for Jimmy, who was lying underneath the window. Then there was a sickening crack and the gunfire stopped. The alien, now in a heap on the floor, was in its true form, with Walsh standing over it.

Walsh's assault rifle had been bent on impact; the alien's armour while giving in, caused the gun to dent. I stood up, the sound of gunfire still rattling in my ears. I then turned my attention to helping the wounded. Dan looked hit, but was fine, hiding behind the sandbags with his hands pushing his helmet down into his skull. Jimmy was lying against the wall, and with my night vision I could see a trail of black coming down from his chest plate.

"Sir!" I yelled at Walsh while I began to patch up Jimmy, who was muttering things in Chinese. Walsh was breathing in and out deeply, blue blood smothering his one arm. "We've lost the two Oscar squaddies!"

"What in God's name was that?" Dan yelled, emerging from his hiding place. "And where's Ant?"

He was referring to Antonio, who was nowhere to be seen. Dan looked over on the balcony and saw one assault rifle lying on the floor. After having a quick look around the room, deducting that Antonio wasn't there, Dan vaulted through the window. He looked over the edge of the balcony and cursed loudly. I told Jimmy to keep pressure on the wound while I checked out what was wrong with Dan.

When I reached the balcony, I saw Dan staring downwards at the street below. I frowned but looked down. There, lying on top of a car's roof was Antonio, his twisted form spread-eagled across the metal. I was lost for breath, and words. In all the fighting, Antonio managed not to get shot but topple several feet to his death. I looked down, placing a hand on Dan's shoulder.

"Doc-I mean, Elias." I smiled as he corrected his mistake. "He was my best friend, you know?"

I nodded and thought back to John, who was probably still lying in the hospital bed struggling to breath. I bowed my head and walked back into the room. Before I could return to help Jimmy, an almighty sound filled the air and I was thrown across the room. I could hear Walsh yelling for Dan to get down, but it was slightly muffled through the temporary shellshock that had come over me.

We were under attack from space. I could see as I slowly regained my composure, a large purple behemoth of a cruiser in orbit above Zarue. Suddenly another, smaller, blast crippled a large apartment block, bringing it to rubble. Then my COM erupted into life.

"Charlie Squad this is India 328! We are en route to your position! Hold tigh-"

The link was cut by a large groaning sound from below. The building was giving in. I looked at Dan, who was still mesmerized at the scene below. Grabbing him, I threw him into the room, where he landed on his feet and, sensing the situation, rushed outside. Jimmy took a little longer but was helped along by Walsh, who was yelling my name. Suddenly a ground came from below once more and the floor shook. I was thrown to the ground once more. A large iron girder cut through the ceiling and fell across the doorway, bringing twisted metal and rubble along with it. Before I could cry out, the sound of a Pelican's engine blocked out my screams as it touched down outside.

Then another low groan and the room seemed to disintegrate before me.


End file.
